7 Sites Every Twentysomething Needs To Be Reading

The internet is a big, GIF filled place, and it frustratingly lacks a directory. You know your Facebook friends will post any funny video you need to see and Twitter will alert you to breaking news, but where are you supposed to go for a heartbreaking essay on the love between sisters, or for the increasingly elusive Grey’s Anatomy recap (just because you’re not watching it anymore doesn’t mean you don’t want to check up on Meredith every now and then)? We’ve got you covered, with must-read sites covering relationship advice, entertainment, and all important lists of every mention of sweets on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Co-edited by Mallory Ortberg, author of the recently released Texts FromJane Eyre, this site has the perfect balance of personal essays, news stories, and humor pieces that show you the satirical side of books you had to read in high school. Remember to check it out on Femslash Fridays, when The Toast’s writers explore the lesbian undertones (and overtones, and all the other tones) of The Craft and point out Mean Girls’ Janis Ians’ obvious crush on Cady.

The Hairpin is hard to categorize. It features funny lists, comics, and paintings starring women wielding swords. Their running advice column, Ask a Clean Person, is crucial anytime you start to worry your apartment is in danger of being condemned.

While Book Riot has general book suggestions collected from recent releases or the editor’s bookshelves, it’s their super specific lists like “Scratch and Sniff Books For Grown-ups” and “South Asian YA” that makes them perfect for the person who has read everything. Their Book Fetish column, which rounds-up literary merchandise like book quote mugs and bookish cuff links, will quickly become a danger to your bank account.

Your first stop to find out about the latest politician who believes thinking about abortion should be criminalized is also an endless source of happier stories full of women succeeding in spite of the patriarchy, as well as cute kids staring in cute YouTube videos. In addition to their quick news posts, Jezebel also tackles recent headlines with more in-depth responses, like their recent video produced in response to the viral video “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman.”

Billing itself as “news, entertainment, opinion, community and girl-on-girl culture,” Autostraddle features content for and about queer women that’s important for all women to read, like in-depth reports and commentary on the fight for marriage equality and reproductive rights (they also feature some pretty thorough recipe round-ups).

A great mix of current pop culture obsessions and nostalgia posts (we still love you, Le0), Gurl also features more practical content that can help you with everything from covering up dark under-eye circles to bringing your formerly-cheating boyfriend to your family’s Thanksgiving dinner.

Keep up with the youths by reading this smart teen mag run by fashion blogger/actress/writer/teenager whose career you’re totally jealous of Tavi Gevinson. Their weekend link round-up, which has a section for each editor that pitched in with the curation, is wonderfully varied and can lead you to everything from the next big music video to Lorde’s latest Tumblr post.